Avena Navideña

Christmastime in Mexico means all variety of things “Navideño,” from cinnamon-apple scented floor cleaner (a personal fave) to the cranberry-turkey panini navideño at Starbucks, and even a queso navideño (manchego with pecans – I was intrigued and had to buy it, though I’ve yet to bust open the package… thinking it would make a great queso fundido at a holiday party).

Prepping for Thanksgiving, I pulled a bag of cranberries out of the freezer to make cranberry sauce, but never got around to it as I came down with a sore throat and ended up spending the day in bed resting.

So Saturday morning, feeling recovered and holiday-inspired, I made a batch of avena navideña – cranberry-orange oatmeal – which tasted like a hot delicious bowl of Christmas morning. We’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal lately and experimenting with flavors (piña colada being another recent fave). Even Gabbi, who has not liked oatmeal since I’ve known him, has become a convert.

You can basically add the cranberries and orange to any oatmeal recipe you like, but here is my version (most measurements are approximate – aside from the oats and water, I really just throw everything else in):

In a saucepan, mix together and simmer over low heat:

1 c oats

2 c water

~2 tbsp freshly ground flaxseed

~2 tbsp wheat germ

~2-3 tbsp whey protein powder (vanilla flavor)

1 tbsp chia seeds

~½ c fresh cranberries and orange segments

juice from ½ orange

zest from 1 large orange

when thickened nicely and ready to eat, stir in:

2 tsp coconut oil

and top with toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and orange wedge to garnish